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IND vs ENG: Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin share endearing moment during off-spinner's 100th Test - Watch

IND vs ENG: Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin share endearing moment during off-spinner's 100th Test - Watch

R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav share a moment

Indian spin duo R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav shared an endearing moment during the first day of the fifth Test match in Dharamshala. After folding England for a modest total of 218, Kuldeep, who picked a five-wicket haul,urged Ashwin to lead the team out of the ground, only for the veteran to refuse the honour.

Usually, the bowler taking a five-fer is given the honour of leading the team back to the pavilion but since Ashwin is playing his 100th Test, Kuldeep took the opportunity to show respect to his senior.

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The leg-spinner tossed the old SG ball to Ashwin and urged him to accept the crowd's applause. However, Ashwin remained adamant that Kuldeep be the one to lead off the field. After a friendly back-and-forth between the two, Kuldeep took the lead while Ashwin and the remaining teammates followed him.

Watch |IND vs ENG: Kuldeep Yadav bowls a ripper to rattle Zak Crawley's stumps on Day 1 of 5th Test

India turn up with the ball

Asked to bowl first at the picturesque HPCA Stadium, India came off the blocks in solid fashion with returning Jasprit Bumrah bowling a spell for the ages. Although he didn't get a wicket, it laid the platform for Kuldeep and Ashwin to weave their spin magic.

Kuldeep made the breakthrough in his first over and continued to drop the ball on a string, evoking comparisons to legendary Shane Warne who passed away two years ago this month.

While Kuldeep started the English collapse, Ashwin applied the finishing touches by not allowing the tail to linger for long and returned with four wickets in his landmark Test.

India have already won the five-match series with an unassailable 3-1 lead following their win in the Ranchi Test. They will, however, look to make the scoreline 4-1 and add crucial points to their kitty in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle.

Teams:

India (Playing XI):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson

(With inputs from agencies)